*SPOILER WARNING FOR THE LAST OF US EPISODE 6*
Adapted from the video game of the same name, HBO Max’s The Last of Us has been the talk of the town ever since its release. The series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, and Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother, Tommy. The sixth and most recent episode of the series reintroduced us to Tommy who was last seen in the premiere episode.
Actor Gabriel Luna opened up about how excited he was for the show to go into its second season. It’s important to note that Gabriel Luna’s excitement came even before the show got renewed for season two. He talks about how he was already pitching ideas for the next season about his character and in the process, he might have suggested that the story could explore storylines beyond the video game.
Gabriel Luna has Plans for Season Two
Luna was once again seen in The Last of Us episode six where he finally reunited with his brother, who had been looking for him for a long, long time. Fans have been waiting with increasing excitement through the previous episodes to learn what actually happened to Tommy after episode one. Well, not only were the fans excited about Tommy, the actor himself was looking forward to playing the role.
While his co-star Bella Ramsey admitted to not playing the video game that started it all, it wasn’t the same for Gabriel Luna. He played both The Last of Us Part I and Part II. Thanks to this, he was extremely interested in what could potentially happen in the second season for Tommy. He told Entertainment Weekly about how he pitched season two ideas to showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann before even shooting his first scene for the series.
“When I played the games, I experienced the story as one big chunk, one unified story. So I was just as much prepping for Part II as I was for the work that was immediately on hand. I’m fully… Yeah, I’m ready…I’ve pitched a few ideas to Craig and Neil about what we could explore, considering we can bubble out to certain pockets of the story that we don’t get to experience in the game. So we’ll see what they have in store, but I was ready before we shot the first frame of [season 1] for Part II. I’m excited to get into that work.”
It looks like if Luna’s ideas are put to work for the second season, the show could deviate to a certain extent from the source material. However, a little creative liberty never hurt anyone, did it?
Also Read: This ‘The Last of Us’ Theory Makes Gut-wrenching Episode 5 Ending Even Sadder
Gabriel Luna Talks about his Character
Sometimes, for an actor to completely immerse himself into their character they need a good background story. What kind of family did they grow up in? What was their childhood like? Did they love and lose? These are just some questions that might make the character have more depth. However, the backstory isn’t always provided to the actors. Similarly, Luna had to come up with his character’s backstory all on his own. The actor told the outlet about what he believes happened with Tommy in all the years he was separated from Joel.
“As they get to Boston, when it only increases the violence, increases the mistrust, he had to find somewhere to apply his skill and his need to fight, to restore life and joy and the reasons for living, not just survival. So, in my mind, he joins the Fireflies, and he realizes at some point that the killing doesn’t cease. In fact, it probably increased exponentially.”
He even revealed that he and Merle Dandridge (Marlene) had once had a discussion about Marlene and Tommy having had a relationship in the past. Luna even stated that in his mind, it was probably the breakup that led Tommy to find his own path.
“In my mind, he and Marlene probably had a little thing going and it probably didn’t end well when she, of course, has so much responsibility as the leader of the Fireflies in the Boston QZ. I think that might have been the straw that sent Tommy on his own way. There’s only so many times you can wake up every morning to see the woman you love and not be able to make it work.”
We love how invested Luna is in his character. Even though Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Ramsey’s Ellie are the lead protagonists of the series, it’s characters like Tommy and others that make the show a wholesome experience!
The Last of Us is available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
